Originally Posted by
Cousin Jack
Some of us never get over bicycles… At seventy two, I can't always remember the faces or names of the people from my childhood, or the houses I lived in, but I can remember with startling clarity each and every bicycle I ever owned. I think it's because for some of us, the bicycle was the first "freedom horse," the first tool which expanded our horizons, the first means by which we could escape human limitations…the seed had been planted; and I've been leaving home ever since
.....teach your child to ride a bike, and he or she is already half gone..... Learn to ride a bike, and the world is yours.
Originally Posted by
Route 66
It's good to know that there are other people who feel this way too.
Originally Posted by
JanMM
Well written.
Bicycling keeps me immature......in a good way.
In my Introduction to Bike Forums, I wrote:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…Back in the 60’s in the Motor City, I had an “English Racer,’ and longed to tour at about age 14, but then joined the car culture. In Ann Arbor MI in the 70’s I really realized the utility of bicycles for commuting, and began touring on a five-speed Schwinn Suburban, but soon bought a Mercier as did my girlfriend, later my wife. We toured in Michigan and Ontario.
In 1977 we moved to Boston on our bikes, as a bicycling honeymoon from Los Angeles to Washington, DC and then took the train up to Boston. … After the birth of our son in 1988, I have pretty much been a year–round commuter only, but in the past few years I have done a century or two a year…
From about age 12 to 14, I distinctly recall going on rides all over the East Side of Metro Detroit, sometimes to a favorite coin shop several miles away (as an avid collector), but often alone or with friends to meander, explore neighborhoods. and just “get lost,” hard to do in a city with a grid pattern of roads.
My cycling lifestyle in many ways makes me feel somewhat “alienated” (“immature”) in a good way from the usual American car-focused lifestyle, and I’m grateful for that. My cycling reputation, mundane as my cycling might be to the hard-core cyclists, is always a source of amusement and conversation with my friends and acquaintances; e.g. in bad weather, “You didn’t ride your bike today, did you?,” or at fancy social events, “Did you ride your bike here?.” Always asked with amusement and respect.
I in turn often ask people where they live, because invariably I have ridden in their neighborhood, and that question usually sparks an engaging converstion.